Samsung Galaxy S2 Problems, Errors and How To Fix Them [Part 7]

Hello guys, I answered ten problems / questions in this post so if you emailed us about your problems with your Samsung Galaxy S2, browse the page as I may have answered them already. If you can’t find your concerns anywhere in this post, please read the first six parts of this series. Please follow links below.

If you need help with your phone, email us at mailbag@thedroidguy.com. We will do our best to help you but please provide as much details as possible. You may also post on our Facebook page. We answer questions and provided solutions there. We also have a Google+ page if you want to use that medium to reach us. Now for the problems, here they are…

#1. Galaxy S2 says no mobile network

Q: Hey, I’ve a Samsung Galaxy S2, I’m with 3, it was working perfectly fine this morning but then now it says that there is no mobile network? It just shows a circle with a line through it. Any help?

A: I think it’s not a major issue, there could be a setting that was changed so you need to find what it is. The thing is it could be a network problem, a SIM card issue, or just a minor glitch in the phone. Here is a checklist of what needs to be done:

#2. Galaxy S2 won’t allow sending of pictures

Q: Hi! Thanks for letting me email you to ask questions. So recently, I believe after a 4.2.2. Update my phone wont allow me to send any sort of pictures. Won’t allow me to put pics on instagram and wont let me use viber or whatsapp using photos in any way. So please help me out its very frustrating. Thank you! — Lydia

A: I understand how frustrating it is not to be able to do things you need to do, Lydia. I was actually anticipating you would tell things that are somehow related to this problem. But no worries, the word ‘recently’ describes it all; it means you could send pictures just fine before. Based on this, I think we have two possibilities here; it could be a network issue or a setting in your phone was changed. But either way, calling your service provider would solve this problem.

When you call, first ask if there are network problems in your area and if the rep would tell you there’s none, then ask for the APN Settings and have the rep walk you through verifying if your phone has the correct data and change them if necessary.

#3. No service issue after flashing custom ROM

Q: Hi Droid Guy, am Walt and am using Samsung Galaxy S2 T-Mobile. I started using this phone about two weeks ago. I love this phone. I upgraded it to official 4.1.2. ROM. I rooted it about 4 days ago, flashed CWM recovery and upgraded to 4.4.2 custom OSE Rom. Great Rom with huge customisations. The bad news is that, I am currently having a ‘No Service Issue’. When I switch to 2g network ,I get the No Service …..emergency call only crap. I have tried everything but I just can’t get 2G network service but only 3G service! Yeah ….3G works ,but when I get to areas with poor 3G coverage, it also turns off leaving me with no network service since my 2G isn’t working either. Please I need your help to fix this issue since I don’t want to change my phone. I tried going back to official 4.1.2 but that didn’t work. I flashed a new kernel this morning (WildKernel) and that didn’t work too. Don’t know what else to do! Please Help! Thanks.

A: That’s the thing about custom ROMs, due to customizations there are always possibilities that some features won’t work anymore. If the phone was getting good service after you updated it to 4.1.2, then the custom ROM has some issues. And since you already tried re-flashing the stock ROM and you still weren’t getting service, try flashing the version you used prior to recent updates. Once you fix the problem, try updating your phone to 4.1.2 again.

However, if the problem started after you updated your phone, then there is a possibility that you had a bad update. You might want to try different ROMs especially stable ones.

#4. Galaxy S2 won’t turn on, blue LED is lit

Q: My Galaxy S2 won’t turn on, but the blue light at the top is on. I’ve tried everything from trying to reboot and the power + volume up + home key but it does nothing. Help please.

A: The blue LED notification is a general notification color, which means you have missed call, unread messages, or any unopened notifications. However, if the phone won’t respond to hardware keys, it could be that it’s frozen, there are some issues with the keys or some circuitry were messed up inside.

For now, try removing the battery from the phone and leave it be without power for a minute or two. While the battery is out, press and hold the Power button of the phone to discharge it of store electricity. Now, replace the battery and turn the phone on. If it refuses to turn on, try charging it. After that, if the phone still stays dead, the battery may be damaged. Buy a new one and see if you can bring the phone back to life.

#5. Galaxy S2 Bluetooth can’t be turned on

A: Not enough information here so I don’t know where to start. It could have been helpful if you provided info like what the performance of the was prior to the problem, or if you were getting an error or something. But try booting the phone to recovery mode and wipe cache partition, if that doesn’t work, then try factory reset.

#6. Galaxy S2 shows “Blank USB Storage” error

Q: Hey Droid guy, spent 4 hours today with Samsung live chat about my phone the s2 from T-Mobile. Got a funny icon in the notifications looks like an SD card with an exclamation point in it. When I pull down the notification it states “Blank USB storage” Clicking this brings me to “Format USB storage” a move that will erase many things that I do not want erased When I click on camera I get a message that says turn USB storage off before using camera?

Also I could not connect with my pc again the USB storage would not work. Tech at Samsung was a waste of time and I ended up with a screaming match with my wife because she said I spent all day on the computer. Tech told me to do a factory reset. Well guess what the freaking thing still does not work and I lost all my music. What is a man to do? Please help if you can. Thank you so much. Sincerely, Glenn.

A: Well, it means that the microSD card is no longer readable by your phone that is why it’s suggesting your format the external storage device. One of the reasons why it happens is that the card was corrupted after months of use. The best course of action if you don’t want to lose your data stored in it, is to let your laptop read from it. If the computer can read, salvage all data you want saved and format the card to FAT32 format. This, however, isn’t a guarantee the problem will be fixed but it’s a sign, even if reformatting resolves the problem, that it is about to give up and you need to buy a new one.

#7. Can’t watch Facebook videos on Galaxy S2

Q: I can’t watch any videos on Facebook and I don’t know why. It used to play them all the time! Thank you. — Jen

A: First of all, check if you have an active internet connection as streaming videos require stable connectivity. If you can browse the web without having problems and you can’t still play FB videos, try clearing the app’s cache and data. If that doesn’t help, uninstall Facebook and re-install it.

#8. Galaxy S2 drains battery fast

Q: Hi there, I’m using the Galaxy S2 i1900 the international version. The problem is that the battery drains pretty fast, like I fully charged the phone and I listened the music with a headphone only about 20 minutes later, the battery dropped down to 93%. When I surf the web with the 3G connection, it will always take a lot of my battery life, like 10-15% with one hour of surfing the web. It can never last a full day. I had to charge it like twice per day, in order to last for a day. I would really appreciate, if you could somehow find the solution for this annoying problem.

A: With the information you provided, it is difficult to determine if it’s really the battery that has a problem or if there are too many services that run that cause this problem. So, perform further testing; boot the phone to safe mode, enable flight mode, and observe the phone closely to know if it still drains the battery faster will almost all services and connectivity features turned off. If that is the case, then you have a battery problem, otherwise, it’s just a matter of managing apps and services in your phone.

#9. Galaxy S2 drained battery, won’t turn on

Q: I forgot to bring my charger to school and the phone used a up all the battery. When I got home I tried to charge it and it didn’t work I charge a few times and it still wont work the next morning I tried charging it and i also tried connecting it to my computer it didn’t work. I have another s2 phone which I then use its charged battery to put in my dead phone it didn’t work I press the on button but nothing happen I really want to retrieve all the important pictures and stuff in my phone ); can I in anyway retrieve it back and save my hand phone too. Ill pay any amount.

A: It is just a drained battery problem. Just remove the battery and leave the phone without it for a minute or two and while doing that, press and hold the power button for a minute to discharge stored electricity. Place the battery back and turn the phone back on. That should do it.

#10. Galaxy S2 won’t charge if not held

Q: Hi, I haven’t had my Samsung for a long time. Probably 3 weeks. My problem is that is won’t charge. I replaced the battery but still, no avail. When I plug my charger in (I’ve tried numerous chargers thinking that might be the problem) and I hold it a certain way, it charges but as soon as I let go it stops charging. What should I do?

A: It’s the microUSB port that has a problem and not your battery. Well, that is based on your statement that the phone charges only if held in a certain way. I’m pretty sure wiggling the cable a bit will charge the phone intermittently. Have a phone checked by a technician and demonstrate how you hold it to charge. There’s nothing much we can do to fix it so employ services of an authorized tech.

#11. Can’t get into the Galaxy S2 after battery problem

Q: I sure hope you can help. My phone problems started with the battery unable to charge due to battery temperature error. It wouldn’t charge with AC cord or USB cord. I researched and eventually saw several times possibility it was USB port or battery. I ended up buying an Universal battery charger and a new battery and thought problem solved.

However, now that I have new battery and it powers up the phone, I can’t get past the lock pattern. I’ve tried resetting via gmail and its not recognizing my pattern or my gmail login and password.

I’ve now noticed that when I power up the phone, it has January 1st date and time always starts with 6 pm. Even though I had turned off wifi just prior to the first battery issue, its now on too.

I even bought an app that was supposed to unlock pattern once downloaded and connected to USB but sometime during this, I am now getting a google player error. (It may be due to I changed password thinking I was inputting incorrectly so I reset…)

I did follow your directions and booted to recovery mode but it didn’t work, unfortunately. I can receive calls but I can’t do much else until I can get past the Lock Pattern.

A: You have no other option but to factory reset your phone. To be able to boot to the recovery mode, you need to completely turn your phone off. To do so, remove the battery and place it back, and then follow these steps:

Press and hold both Volume Up and Volume Down keys at the same time.

Press the Power key only until the phone vibrates once, then release only the Power key.

Continue to hold the Volume up and Volume Down keys until the Android System Recovery screen appears.

Press the Volume Down key to highlight wipe data / factory reset.

Press the Power key to select.

Press the Volume Down key to highlight Yes – Delete all user data.

Press the Power key to select.

Press the Power key to reboot.

I hope this helps.

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